What to buy?

[Dad1]

Hi all

I am looking for a bass for my daughter (age 15 - slim hands, and a complete beginner). I know nothing about basses and am somewhat torn between these options:

1) Cort GB99
2) Ibanez GSR180
3) Yamaha RBX374

Which of these would you recommend for a beginner?

Thx in advance

Dad.

 

[KillerPenguin]

Cort GB99. With a proper set up, it can rock hard.

 

[f.c.geil]

Dad, take her with you, and whichever one she gravitates toward is the right one. You spend so much time with an instrument in your hands that the "right" one is invariably the one that feels best and/or appeals most on a visceral level. She needs to pick her bass, as long as it is within your budget.

I can say that Yamaha has always had a reputation of providing the most instrument for the money, which is why so many school band instruments are Yamaha. Are they the best? No, but you do get a great value with them. Cort and Ibanez are both reputable guitar manufacturers, too, with great artists playing their instruments. Frankly, you can't really go wrong with any of the three.

 

[Shiningwater]

Just make sure it plays great, looks great, feels great, has correct intonation and good sustain. Just can't beat a good neck thru though.

 

[jay tay]

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OK first the Ibanez, a very good bass, Ibanez boast excellent build quality, it has a maple Neck and Agathis body so everything is solid there, Its in the style of a fender Jazz bass, which is a classic design, and the 19mm string spacing will mean it won't be a big jump to her next instrument, a very good option, classic looks, solid materials, nice slim neck, should last forever.

The Cort is also a very nice bass. again it is in the same Fender Jazz bass style, and has a nice slim neck. the body is made of bass wood, wich some people say is cheep, but it is also very light, so should be easy for her to handle. also has hipshot tuners, which is a plus. very similar to the Ibanez, but I'd say that you're getting a little more bass for your money. Ibanez does have a slightly beter reputation, so it is a bit of a trade off there!

Now the Yamaha is a bit of an odd one out, if you look at the pickups, you can see that they are bigger than the others. that's because they are humbuclers, which is a double coil, rather than the single coil on the other two bass's. this means it will have a different sound, not better or worse just different. This bass has an alder body which is a little heavier than the others, but is very tough, so will withstand allot of abuse taking to and from lessons. The design is much more modern, then the others, with it's own character. however this may look dated in a few years. Yamaha is very good quality, and all of the components here seem to be of a very respectable specification.

In my opinion the Yamaha is of very good value and construction, I would favour that over the others, the only thing that really puts me off it is the looks, not my cup of tea! but your daughter my love it... I think the cort is the best looker, but at the end of the day it is all subjective.

You can't go wrong with any of them really, all very good value, and solid instruments.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Dad, take her with you, and whichever one she gravitates toward is the right one.

I agree. I'd also not narrow it down to those 3. There are hundreds of great basses out there. Should be something that really gets her going, and the look of a bass has more to do with it than one might want to admit to. Not that those basses are ugly or anything (I don't even know what they look like), but they for sure aren't the most popular basses out there. Any reason it's been narrowed to those 3?

I'll add also that I had 2 Cort basses and on both of them the neck needed some serious shimming to get the action at a decent place. I never had to shim a neck on any other bass I've owned, and I've owned lots and lots. Don't know if all Corts are like that but if that's the case, if ya don't know what you're doing, the bass could be a real big turnoff to a beginner.

 

[quadrogong]

Ibanez Mikro ! (model# GSRM20)
Way smaller than the Ibanez u mentioned, very inexpensive and just a beautiful, pure tone w it's mahogany body and smoke, passive electronics...


I'm a player w a chronic finger injury
I need the short scale and 1.5" nut width.
This bass is 28.6" scale and sounds huge.

There's a Mikro Club w a lot of players here on TB, they all seem to really live 'e'm.

It comes in blk, wht, blue ,red and a
pearl pink. I think red may be discontinued
I suggest buying the Mikro gig bag too.

It's the size of a guitar and as light.
Lots of videos on YouTube of these

I LOVE mine and I'm a pro, adult bassist,
I put expensive pickups and a preamp in mine
But there's a video of mine totally stock w the price tag hanging off it, it sounds great!.
I'd say buying a set of good strings is all you really need.
( U use shortscale DR sunbeams)

I highly suggest looking into it over your three choices,
it's the smallest scale length available
and just so pure and rich sounding,

It's a PJ pickup configuration but if u buy the starter pack (w amp, strap etc)
you get the single Pbass pickup model.
If u YouTube " Mikro Sadowsky "
U will hear a couple of my vids, one without the modifications

 

[lowendrasta56]

+1 about letting her decide within your PR.

I started off on an Ibanez, and they have a wonderful reputation on here for being excellent beggining bass guitars. I havent played the Cort, but one thing that may have been overlooked is how LIGHT that Ibanez probably is. It may encourage her to practice longer without straining herself. Also, she may find that over time she grows to love the feel of her bass- if so, she will have a very easy time upgrading to a better Ibanez with a similar, yet upgraded feel and sound. (and so will your wallet)

Good luck! Its awesome that you're introducing your daughter to bass guitar! My vote goes to the Ibanez.

 

[Stev187]

+1 on letting her try and decide. It's not one of the basses you mention, but we settled on the Squier Jaguar Short Scale for our 10 year old when he started earlier in the year. I play that bass more than my own right now.

Check out this very active thread here on TB:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/squier-jaguar-short-scale-club-774910/index42.html

You can't beat the price on these things, and IMHO the P/J setup is the most versatile config for a new bassist. I continue to be blown away by the high quality of this bass. There's more info than you could ever want on this model in the thread above.

--Steve

 

[TolerancEJ]

+1 I also agree with the others, about bringing her with you. Let her try wearing each of them with a strap. Maybe one might feel a little too heavy for her. A sore shoulder following practice is not a good way to introduce a person to an instrument.

 

[EagleMoon]

I'm female and I was 15 years old when I started. My first bass was a Fender P bass. Just felt "right" to me. Size of your hands doesn't have a lot to do with the way a bass feels and plays to you.

What do the bass players in the groups she listens to play? That might have a bigger influence than anything at that age. Plus if she can get the tones that her favorite players get, she'll be more likely to keep on playing.

 

[XtheDeadPawn]

Take her with you.

My parents wanted me to get a Squier starter pack Affinity P bass. I wanted a Yamaha RBX170 fast forward 5 years I'm still playing bass. Reason? I got the bass that "I" wanted.
If I got what my parents wanted I'd have given up within the first 6 months. BTW I proably would have held some ill will towards my parents for making me get it (Squier starter pack).

FWIW chances are random guys telling you about which bass to get is a sort of bad idea everybody has brand bias, prejudeces and opinions and opinions are just like @$$holes we all got one. The only opinion you should be listening to is your daughters.

BTW I'm 21 so by my math she's starting a year before I did (16). Advice unrelated to your question I strongly suggest investing in a couple of lessons with a teacher who is into the genre your daughter listens too. It'll make lessons more fun for her because she'll be learning to play songs she actually listens too not just "Danny Boy". Also it'll make her want to practice.

 

[pcake]

i agree with this. everyone who plays has things they prefer - neck width, weight, etc - so it's best she choose her own.

yamaha does make great lower end instruments. i used to drag my yamaha RBX170 to rehearsals, and the band and i actually liked how it sounded, which i wasn't expecting.

Dad, take her with you, and whichever one she gravitates toward is the right one. You spend so much time with an instrument in your hands that the "right" one is invariably the one that feels best and/or appeals most on a visceral level. She needs to pick her bass, as long as it is within your budget.

I can say that Yamaha has always had a reputation of providing the most instrument for the money, which is why so many school band instruments are Yamaha. Are they the best? No, but you do get a great value with them. Cort and Ibanez are both reputable guitar manufacturers, too, with great artists playing their instruments. Frankly, you can't really go wrong with any of the three.

 

[Andy_D]

Consider moving up just a little to something like an Ibanez SR300, Cort C4, or if she doesn't mind trying a 5 string maybe a Yamaha BB425. These are $299 right now on Amazon (67% off). These basses are a cut above typical "beginner" basses, are more pleasurable to play and may make her want to stick with it.

Anyway look around a little there are some good bargains to had out there that are within your budget.

 

[Tupac]

Forget those. Take a look at the Squier line, but stay away from the Affinity series.


Also, feel before playing. I was dead set on the Yamaha RBX170 when I was starting, then I went to GC and actually played it, along with some other basses. Suddenly it didn't seem so appealing. That same day I found the Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar, and I've been in love with it since. Picked it up the first time I played it.

 

[TolerancEJ]

The Ibanez Mikro has already been mentioned. If you happen to be considering it, a quick search of Guitar Center's used section shows a purple one for $69.99 and a blue one for $99.99. FYI only.

 

[Andy_D]

There is a real nice SR500 in the classifieds for sale by another TB'r right now. Used but likely blows you original choices out of the water.

 

[lowendrasta56]

Forget those. Take a look at the Squier line, but stay away from the Affinity series.

Also, feel before playing. I was dead set on the Yamaha RBX170 when I was starting, then I went to GC and actually played it, along with some other basses. Suddenly it didn't seem so appealing. That same day I found the Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar, and I've been in love with it since. Picked it up the first time I played it.

Why forget the Ibanez? Squiers are heavier. Arent most basswood? And if youre talking about a CV or VM, bet he could find a nice lightweight soundgear series for the same price or better, thst sounds equally as good and weighs less. Remember this is for his daughter.. I had a squier once and it was very heavy.

Im just trying to help her practice for as long as she can ibanezs also have very small, comfortable necks. I teach bass and love them for beginners!

 

[mpdd]

u might want to show her a daisy rock and go on from there, see if she likes the weight or thin neck

 

[darkstorm]

None of those. Imo if your not willing to spend at least $300 for a bass not including case or nice gig bag, plus cables, picks, amp. You should only concider used. And let the person pick of those in your price range after visiting various stores used depts. Since you are not them and wont be able to really judge which will p-lay (have best neck for them) aqnd sound best to them.